Activist fund Elliott Advisors has written to other Telecom Italia shareholders to call for a "truly independent" board to improve governance, performance and shake up the way Vivendi has run the Italian phone group. Elliott said "poor stewardship under the Vivendi-controlled board has resulted in deeply troubling corporate governance issues, a valuation discount and strategic failures". TIM has lost more than a third of its market value since French media group Vivendi first took a stake in mid-2015 and increasingly tightened its grip on Italy's biggest phone group.

Activist investor Elliott proposed to oust the French chairman of Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) and install leaders of Italy's corporate establishment on the board as part of an intensifying campaign to force a shakeup at the former state phone monopoly. Elliott said last week it had taken a stake in TIM and was ready to replace board members in a bid to improve strategy, value and governance - a move widely seen as a challenge to the way top shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA) runs the company. The fund proposed to include a motion on the agenda of an April 24 shareholder meeting that seeks to replace six board members originally nominated by Vivendi, including TIM Chairman and Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine, TIM said on Thursday.

Activist investor Elliott proposed to oust the French chairman of Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) and install leaders of Italy's corporate establishment on the board as part of an intensifying campaign to force a shakeup at the former state phone monopoly. Elliott said last week it had taken a stake in TIM and was ready to replace board members in a bid to improve strategy, value and governance - a move widely seen as a challenge to the way top shareholder Vivendi (VIV.PA) runs the company. The fund proposed to include a motion on the agenda of an April 24 shareholder meeting that seeks to replace six board members originally nominated by Vivendi, including TIM Chairman and Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine, TIM said on Thursday.

Telecom Italia's main shareholder, French media group Vivendi, has declared itself ready to support an alternative strategy to boost the Italian firm's short-term share price, as activist investor Elliott Advisors pushes for a shakeup. Last week Elliott said it had taken an unspecified stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) and was ready to replace board members in a drive to improve strategy, value and governance. Vivendi, which owns 24 percent of TIM, told Reuters on Wednesday night that it still supported a longer-term strategy unveiled by TIM's new chief executive last week and was committed to creating an Italian telecoms and content champion.

Telecom Italia's main shareholder, French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA), has declared itself ready to support an alternative strategy to boost the Italian firm's short-term share price, as activist investor Elliott Advisors pushes for a shakeup. Last week Elliott said it had taken an unspecified stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) and was ready to replace board members in a drive to improve strategy, value and governance. Vivendi, which owns 24 percent of TIM, told Reuters on Wednesday night that it still supported a longer-term strategy unveiled by TIM's new chief executive last week and was committed to creating an Italian telecoms and content champion.

Vivendi CEO Arnaud De Puyfontaine may suspend his executive powers as chairman of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) to support a debate on strategy after activist fund Elliott built a stake in the former state phone monopoly, a Vivendi spokesman said. Last week Elliott Advisors said it had taken an unspecified stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) and was ready to replace board members in a drive to improve strategy, value and governance. The move was widely seen as a challenge to the way top investor Vivendi runs the company.

Vivendi CEO Arnaud De Puyfontaine may suspend his executive powers as chairman of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) to support a debate on strategy after activist fund Elliott built a stake in the former state phone monopoly, a Vivendi spokesman said. Last week Elliott Advisors said it had taken an unspecified stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) and was ready to replace board members in a drive to improve strategy, value and governance. The move was widely seen as a challenge to the way top investor Vivendi runs the company.

Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) interrupted negotiations with unions over redundancies and is ready to introduce temporary layoff schemes in the coming weeks, two labour representatives said on Tuesday. The phone group, which employs almost 60,000 people in its domestic operations, is considering cutting up to 6,500 jobs in Italy through incentivised redundancies and early retirement. "We have told the company that we will not reach a deal on layoffs if the shareholding structure is not clear ... and without a government in place," said Giorgio Serao, from the Fistel-Cisl union, referring to activist fund Elliott taking a stake in TIM, and the fact a national election last week delivered a hung parliament.

Telecom Italia's (TIM) (TLIT.MI) chairman said on Thursday he had not held talks with Elliott Advisors and was confident in TIM's plan, adding that he had only heard rumours about the activist investor's opposition to it. Activist investor Elliott Advisors has built a stake in TIM this week, and said it could take steps to replace some members of TIM's board to improve governance, valuation, strategy and the company's relationship with Italian authorities.

Telecom Italia (Amsterdam: TI6.AS - news) 's (TIM) chairman said on Thursday he had not held talks with Elliott Advisors and was confident in TIM's plan, adding that he had only heard rumours about the activist investor's opposition to it. Activist investor Elliott Advisors has built a stake in TIM this week, and said it could take steps to replace some members of TIM's board to improve governance, valuation, strategy and the company's relationship with Italian authorities.

Activist fund Elliott's acquisition of a stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) is not a cause of concern for the phone group and its main shareholder Vivendi, the TIM Chairman and Vivendi CEO said on Thursday in a newspaper interview. Arnaud de Puyfontaine told Italian daily Il Messaggero he did not see Elliott's move as an attack against Vivendi. When asked about Elliott's plan to ask for the TIM board to be changed and the business plan radically modified, he said the plan had been unanimously approved by the board.

Activist fund Elliott's acquisition of a stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) is not a cause of concern for the phone group and its main shareholder Vivendi, the TIM Chairman and Vivendi CEO said on Thursday in a newspaper interview. Arnaud de Puyfontaine told Italian daily Il Messaggero he did not see Elliott's move as an attack against Vivendi. When asked about Elliott's plan to ask for the TIM board to be changed and the business plan radically modified, he said the plan had been unanimously approved by the board.

Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management confirmed its latest target late Tuesday: Telecom Italia, Italy’s version of AT&T. Elliott is weighing into a political power struggle worthy of a Verdi opera....

Telecom Italia (TIM) held out a promise of richer shareholder returns hours after activist fund Elliott Advisors threatened to try to shake up the way top shareholder Vivendi runs the company. Elliott said on Tuesday it had built an unspecified stake in TIM and was ready to replace some members of the board to improve strategy, value and governance at Italy's biggest phone group. Setting out its plan for 2018-20, TIM sought to convince investors it could reverse years of sluggish share price performance and cope with new rivals that are appearing in both broadband and mobile.

Activist investor Elliott Advisors has built a stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) (TIM), it said on Tuesday, in a move that could challenge the way top investor Vivendi (VIV.PA) runs Italy's biggest phone group. TIM shares rose as much as 7 percent, hitting their highest in more than four months, after news of the stake-building was first reported by Bloomberg. Elliott may further increase its stake in the former state telephone monopoly and could take steps to replace some members of TIM's board to improve governance, valuation, strategy and the company's relationship with Italian authorities, the activist fund said in an emailed statement.

France's competition authority may open investigations into Facebook (FB.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) "in the next few months" after an in-depth examination concluded the pair dominate the French online advertising market. The regulator said it was considering a full inquiry on Tuesday amid growing scrutiny from European authorities of the biggest internet companies, whose size and sway over data collection have rapidly made them advertising giants. "What is clear is the overwhelmingly dominant position of Google and Facebook," president of the French competition body, Isabelle de Silva, said.

Orange is ready to stop broadcasting channels owned by TF1 if it continues to demand fees for content that is available via other distributors for free, its chief executive was quoted as saying by Le Figaro on Monday. "We will not sign an agreement with a fee clause for content that is available freely on other distribution channels," Orange's boss Stephane Richard was quoted as saying. Orange and TF1 have been locked in a row over distribution fees for two years.

Italian publisher GEDI (GEDI.MI) said on Monday it had received a binding bid for its 30 percent stake in broadcasting company Persidera but judged it insufficient. "The offer was not considered to be in line with expectations and was thus rejected," GEDI said in a statement. Last month Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI), which owns the remaining 70 percent of Persidera, voted in favour of the only official offer for its stake, from fund F2i and tower group Rai Way (RWAY.MI), but left the door open to other binding bids.

Infrastructure fund F2i and towers company Raiway (RWAY.MI) will not extend their offer for Telecom Italia's (TIM) (TLIT.MI) broadcasting unit Persidera after it expires on Friday, three sources close to the matter said. The Raiway-F2i offer, which valued Persidera at around 250 million euros (222.96 million pounds), was the only binding bid TIM received for the unit.

The spectre of a full-blown trade war has reared its head. U.S. President Donald Trump has mooted steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, declaring that "trade wars are good, and easy to win". Market reaction has been swift, with heavy stock market falls, especially in steel producers' shares - some names such as ArcelorMittal have tumbled as much as 5 percent.

The spectre of a full-blown trade war has reared its head. U.S. President Donald Trump has mooted steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, declaring that "trade wars are good, and easy to win". Market reaction has been swift, with heavy stock market falls, especially in steel producers' shares - some names such as ArcelorMittal (LSE: 0NSF.L - news) have tumbled as much as 5 percent.